Use of windows has become quite common in conventional computer applications. One reason for such a broad acceptance of windows is the convenience afforded by their use. For example, via use of a window-based application such as a text editor, a computer user can open a “window” and view and modify the contents of a file such as a text document displayed in the window. Typically, windows include data input display regions such as icons, data fields, scroll bars, pull-down menus, etc. for a computer user to provide control commands associated with the window.
One purpose of providing a conventional scroll bar in a window is to enable the computer user to traverse different sections of a document that otherwise cannot be efficiently displayed in the window at the same time. For example, in many circumstances, a window can display only a portion of a document for viewing by the computer user. Based on input to the scroll bar, the computer user can easily control which sections of the document to display in the window for viewing.
One way of controlling which portion of an image is displayed in a window is to click on a reference icon (e.g., a movable mark in the scrollbar representing a relative position of an image currently viewed in the window) and drag the reference icon up and down the scrollbar. In response to sliding the reference icon in the scrollbar, different respective sections of the image appear in the window for viewing by the computer user.